


Untranslatable Words

by Princess_Diarist



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, Zelink Zine, Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 04:30:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18909589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Diarist/pseuds/Princess_Diarist
Summary: Link and Zelda have a conversation on language during an idle afternoon in Ordon.





	Untranslatable Words

**Author's Note:**

> This is the short story I submitted to the Zelink Zine, along some fanart!
> 
> I was honored to be among an amazing group of artists! Check it out on: zelinkzine.tumblr.com
> 
> I'd love to remix this concept into little stories, each focused in one specific word.

 

It was one of those rainy afternoons when the only thing people want to do is to stay cozy, next to a fireplace, or cuddling under a thick blanket next to a significant other.

Ordon had been sunny almost all day, and, after lunch, thick, enormous grey clouds had covered the sky, a few rumbles of thunder announcing the downpour.

Zelda laid on her belly on the bed, head facing towards the tiny window of the upper level of the house, entranced in a pocket-sized, thin book. Along the other level, they had been recently expanded to fit more furniture, now looking more like a home than ever, considering that now Link's trips to the village would always include her good company.

 

'You surely seem pretty darn invested on that book’, Link made a little pout, lying idly on his back, next to Zelda.

 

'This is really captivating’, her eyes wandered from the page to her partner's bright blue eyes. ‘I hope you don't mind me being too focused in it instead of spoiling you with whatever is crossing your mind right now, you naughty lad’.

 

'Keep reading’, he moved away a strand of hair that fell forward. 'I'm bein’ petty as heck, I just wanted your attention’.

 

She snorted a little laugh. ‘We could read together’, she offered, 'and comment like we do at the castle’.

 

'I like that’, he turned to lie face down, 'whatcha readin’?’

 

'A book on Linguistics, Semantics to be specific’, she said, giggling at his frown and face of absolute befuddlement. 'It is fun! I found a word that perfectly describes this house!’

 

'Nope!’, he grimaced, 'I thought you were reading one of our super cheesy chivalry and romance novels! Or a good poetry book, to get ravished by words, but in a good way!’

 

'And I thought you were a man interested in cultivating your knowledge’, she sighed with feigned derision, 'what a pity’.

 

'Don't put it that way’, he pouted, ‘it’s just that I don't feel like readin’ brainy books today’.

 

An idea sparked in her head, and she brushed her fingers lightly through his hair, Link giving in to her loving caresses immediately, almost like a puppy.

 

'What do you call this?’, she asked, her right hand stroking his ashen blond hair in a way he almost purrs and nudges his head like a cat against her arm.

 

‘Surrender?’, his question made her giggle. ‘Feels nice’.

 

‘Wrong answer, but it’s because we don’t have a word to describe the sensation you feel when I stroke your hair and scratch your scalp like I am doing now’, Zelda cleared out. ‘The Calatians do’.

 

‘And what word is it?’, Link almost mumbled his question, turned to putty in her hand. ‘Enlighten me, O Wise One’.

 

‘ _ Cafuné _ ’, the word rolled out of her lips perfectly, the pronunciation clear and precise. ‘Calatians happen to have several unique, interesting, impossible-to-translate words, and I happened to find a couple to describe you!’

 

His head rose, intrigued by her findings. Link, as a man of few words, was very succinct in the words he used to define Zelda. If someone asked for the first words that came to his mind when thinking of her, they would be:  _ Wise, Tender, Love, Beauty,  _ and  _ Light _ .

All very simple words, very general, but to him, were exactly what he needed to invoke her image, whether she was close to him, or miles away.

 

‘And what are those words?’, he wondered turning to lie on his right side, now him raking her long hair.

 

‘ _ Petrichor _ , which is the scent of soil after the rain’, she leaned a little towards him, breathed in deeply, and sighed. ‘Because it’s exactly how you smell’.

 

‘Love, I swear it’s just sweat’, he burst into laughs. ‘Don’t romanticize it’.

 

She snorted a loud laugh. ‘I don’t romanticize it, you do smell just like that!’

 

‘Whatever you say’, he shook his head. ‘Next word’.

 

‘This one derives from the old word to describe felines in old Calatian,  _ gato _ , the word is  _ Gattara _ ’, she began giggling again. ‘A person, oftentimes a lady, who...cares for stray cats’.

 

Link's face of stupor was priceless.

 

‘I honestly feel so attacked right now, woman’, he faked offense, but yet he laughed. ‘You just called your  _ husband _ ’ - he waved his left hand in front of her face, showing off his wedding band- ‘ _ a cat lady _ !’

 

‘As if you weren’t a cat person!’, Zelda smiled fondly at the word he emphasized.

 

‘I love all animals equally’, he scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. ‘Cats particularly, and a very feline woman the most’.

 

Indeed, there was something very feline in her, beyond the color and shape of her eyes; underneath the silk, the refinement, and the regalia, he had found she was a kindred spirit, a soul that had traces of wildness, just like his.

It was not only the mark they shared: her heart beat in the same rhythm as his, her words fulfilled his silences, his actions complemented her thoughts, as if their spirits resonated with each other. They even completed each other’s ideas when they worked together!

Such synchrony had captivated him since they were just friends. And it still did, sending his heart aflutter constantly - but he never had a word for that.

 

‘There’s a word I liked …’, she rubbed her nose against his, taking him out of his reverie, surprising him again with how their minds constantly just clicked, ‘ _ kilig… _ it describes the butterflies you feel in the stomach when you are in love, it’s apparently a recorded word of the fabled Picori, also known as Minish, who are small as a thumb and dwell in the forests of Hyrule’.

 

‘ _ Kilig _ ’, he repeated it. ‘I like it. You make me feel that’. 

 

‘Likewise’, she turned to her side and moved closer, the embrace tight, faces almost leaning for a kiss. ‘I have one last word for you, but it will have consequences’.

 

‘I don’t care about those, bring it on’, he grinned.

 

‘ _ Basorexia _ ’.

 

‘The heck is that, my love?’, he snickered. 'Sounds like a deadly disease’.

 

‘It could certainly be’, she smirked playfully, 'because it's the deep, intense, overwhelming, impossible to understand impulse to…’

 

And she claimed his lips for her, with no need to explain the rest.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The meanings are given on the story, buy here is the list of words with their origin: 
> 
> Cafuné: Portuguese  
> Petrichor: Latin  
> Gattara: Italian  
> Kilig: Tagalog  
> Basorexia: Latin
> 
> The word Zelda alludes as describing the house is Hyggelig, Danish for 'cozy and warm'.


End file.
